You pay attention to your tire pressure, have your vehicle maintained, and you even take your car to the gas station when you have a quarter tank of gas left to avoid any issues. However, when was the last time you looked at your windshield?
Your windshield is more than just a barrier that keeps dirt and debris from entering your car. In fact, today’s vehicle uses the windshield as another critical accessory for vehicle safety. So, when that windshield is cracked or chipped, it is no longer safe in front of your car.
Therefore, if you have been putting off a windshield crack repair in Edmonton, now is the time to have it looked at by a professional.
The Real Dangers of a Cracked Windshield
Windshields need maintenance and attention too. In the winter, you face slippery and dangerous conditions. If you are in an accident with a windshield that is unsafe (such as cracked or chipped heavily), you could face more danger:
Being Ejected from the Vehicle: The driver and passenger are at higher risk for being ejected from the vehicle in an accident. If the windshield has a crack in it, then it will likely shatter upon impact in another accident. If you or your passenger is not wearing a seatbelt at the time, you are more likely to be ejected through the windshield because it no longer can protect you.
Airbag Issues: The airbag might not deploy properly in an accident. If your windshield shatters and your airbag fails to deploy, you may find yourself thrust forward into the windshield. Furthermore, if the airbag were to push you toward the windshield by ejecting upward, you would be exposed to the shattering glass of that cracked windshield.
Increased Dangers for Rollover Accidents: You might be surprised to hear that a windshield protects you in the event your vehicle rolls over. Rollovers are fatal in a vast majority of accidents, and many of these high numbers of injuries and deaths come from broken windshields. An undamaged windshield provides your vehicle with structural integrity, which protects you too during a rollover. When that windshield is cracked, it no longer has the support functionality, and it can force the vehicle to cave in when it otherwise would have remained stable.
Decreased Protection for Collisions: Your vehicle’s structural integrity does not stop at a rollover. In fact, if you were to rear-end a car or be involved in a front-end collision, the windshield is supposed to take that force of the impact and send it into the chassis of the car; thus, reducing the impact you and your passengers experience. When the windshield has a crack, it does not absorb and redistribute the impact; instead, it forces that impact back into the vehicle.
Avoid the dangers of driving with a cracked windshield and bring your car or truck into All-West Glass for windshield crack repair. We offer windshield repairs and replacements at our 19 locations across Western and Northern Canada.